From the Backstretch by Reuben Frank

After finishing 12-100ths of a second behind 2nd place in the 400 hurdles at Under-20 Nationals in Eugene, Pennsauken’s Bryce Tucker assumed he had missed out on his chance to represent the U.S. at the Pan Am Under 20 Championships next month.

But much like Millville’s Bryanna Craig last year, Tucker has been added to the U.S. team, presumably because one of the first two finishers is unable to make the trip to Puerto Rico.

Tucker, a June Pennsauken graduate who’ll be a freshman at Rutgers this fall, ran 52.00 for 3rd place in Eugene on Sunday. Greg Gose, a June graduate of Valley High in Lander, W., won the race in 51.67 and Damon Frabotta of Boston College was second in 51.89.

As the 3rd-place finisher, Tucker is the 1st alternate, and he got word this week he’s now on the U.S. team that will compete in Mayagüez, Puerto Rico.

Craig last year placed 3rd in the heptathlon at the 2022 Under-20 Championships with a then PR of 5,388 points. She finished only 13 points behind 2nd place and a spot on the U.S. team that went to Worlds in Cali, Colombia, but made the team as an alternate and placed 18th with 5,192 points. She went on to place 2nd in the Big Ten Conference heptathlon this year as a Purdue freshman with a PR 5,460 points. She was 2nd to Iowa junior Tionna Tobias of Winslow Township.

As for Tucker, this is another opportunity to race before beginning his college career.

Tucker is a three-time Meet of Champions winner, numerous-time All-America, national runner-up this past spring and his 50.96 at this year’s Meet of Champions was 8th-fastest time in state history, 2nd-fastest in meet history and South Jersey history and No. 1 in the U.S. this sprihng.

The Pan Am Under 20 is held every other year in non-World Junior years. This year’s meet is scheduled for Aug. 4-6. There doesn’t appear to be a schedule of events anywhere on the net or even a meet web site. If you can find one, let us know!

In Puerto Rico, Tucker will represent South Jersey along with Kingsway’s Ryan Allen, who won the 10,000-meter racewalk at U.S. Juniors in Eugene. Allen just finished his freshman year at Villanova.